Before your head hits the pillow

What does it mean to judge, or what does the Bible say about judging?

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

What does it mean to judge, or what does the Bible say about judging?

The Bible speaks often about judging and in many cases the word judge has a different meaning.

Below are many passages that warn us against judging. I believe that Jesus warned so frequently against judging, for when we judge others we don’t take an introspective look at ourselves and our own spiritual deficiencies.

We can talk about Sue at the office and how often she gossips, or we can discuss how Larry has such terrible language, or how frustrated that Mr. and Mrs. Lewis never seem to volunteer for anything at church. When we do this, we don’t take the time to look at the plank in our own eye. When Jesus was speaking about this type of judgment he was telling us not to judge hypocritically.

Judging others seems to give us a reprieve, and that is not what the Lord would want. Here are the passages on this type of judging:

Matt. 7:1-3″Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.…

Luke 6:37″Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Luke 6:41″Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

John 8:7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Romans 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Romans 14:10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

Romans 14:13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

So if we think it is okay to judge others’ sins or deficiencies we had better make sure that we have taken a good look at our own lives before we do. There may be time when spiritual discipline is in order, but we must be sure that we are the correct person to administer that discipline and we are doing so in love.

Now this doesn’t mean that we ignore sin, but it does mean that we must be careful before we judge someone else’s sin. We do however have a responsibility to assist another Christian who is sinning, to lovingly and respectfully let them understand their error. James 5:20 states: — let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. 2 Timothy 4:2 says – preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

I think we often confuse discernment for judging. I do believe that it is valid to be discerning. It is appropriate for a parent to look at their teenage children’s friends and make a determination whether they believe those friends are appropriate for their child.

It is appropriate for us to discern that certain people are not good for us so we should not associate with them. That is discernment.

Understanding that something is not Godly, is not judging.

Many have cited the passage that indicates we will know them by the fruit on their tree. This passage, Matt. 7:15-20 is specifically speaking about false prophets and how important it is for us to be able to identify them.

Matthew 7:15-21″Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.…

Matthew 7:16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?

Matthew 12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.

Luke 6:44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers.

As Christians we must be ever vigilant about from whom we are taking spiritual leadership. I think the most dangerous are those who speak some truth, but not all of the truth. They can sound good, they reference God and His power but they may also espouse Buddha or Confucius. If you find a spiritual leader like this RUN!!!

And lastly there is the judging of one’s eternal destination. I think we will all agree on this one. That is left entirely up to the Lord! We must NEVER judge someone’s salvation, for only God knows this!

So I guess the long and the short of it is: Look at yourself before you pass judgment on anyone else. If a fellow believer is sinning, approach them with love and respect and NEVER judge anyone’s salvation. That is entirely up to God!

From Our Readers

Good Faith | Micro film

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Our reader Katie Wong writes:

Having gone through several times imprisonments, his heart had never shaken. He knew more about God, and knew no matter where God orchestrated man, God was to save man. He saw God’s thoughtful kind intention and grew up in persecution and tribulation.

Before your head hits the pillow

Bondage – Jeremiah 35

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chains2

…Before your head hits the pillow…

Jeremiah 34 – Bondage

In Jeremiah 34 we see many of the prophesies of Jeremiah coming to fruition. The Babylonians were now invading Jerusalem. Jeremiah had warned King Zedekiah many times to submit to the Babylonians but he refused to do so. He made an alliance with Egypt which angered King Nebuchadnezzar. This disobedience incurred the wrath of the Almighty God.

Many years earlier, God had proclaimed to the Israelites that every Hebrew slave needed to be released after the sixth year of their servitude. This was a solemn command of the Lord. In fear for his life and as a hollow token of obedience, Zedekiah ordered all of the people still remaining in Jerusalem to free their Hebrew slaves, both men and women.

When the siege was temporarily lifted, the people once again became bold in their own strength and the wicked people changed their minds and took back the people they had freed and placed them back into bondage.

King Zedekiah and the people of Judah had enslaved other Hebrews who God demanded they set free, but the true men and women in bondage were the wicked people of Judah. They were in bondage to their own sins. The bondage to their sins led them to bondage to the enemy. They destroyed themselves through their bondage to sin.

We too have a decision to make. We can be like the people of Judah. We can repent when times are tough and turn from our wicked ways and then when things get better, when God has lifted the siege, go back to our ungodly ways. Or we can truly repent and seek the face of God in all that we do.

If we do not break the shackles, the bondage of sin, we too will destroy ourselves. God will still be our God, He will still love us, just as he constantly loved His Hebrew children, but He will allow our bondage to sin to destroy us. If we are truly His sons and daughters we can be assured of redemption, just as God returned the Hebrews to their homeland, but not until they had endured many years of hardship.

We can either turn from our wicked ways and live in peace or we can be enslaved to sin and allow it to destroy us. God will still love us, but bondage to sin has serious consequences.

Soon we will enter into the Christmas season, when we celebrate the birth of our Redeemer. So let’s show our gratitude for His sacrifice by throwing off the shackles of sin that enslave us and rely on our Lord for guidance and strength.

Never forget the promise in John 8:31-32 – So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
From Our Readers

Bible verses about Mercy as Larger Obligation

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Our reader Elsie Mckenzie writes:

Bible verses about Mercy as Larger Obligation

Matthew 12:1-8

Jesus truly knew God’s law and that other concerns (mercy, in this case; verse 7) may sometimes override the strict letter-of-the-law approach the Pharisees used. The Pharisees no doubt thought Jesus a flaming liberal, but to Jesus, He was simply working within the liberty God’s law allows (see Psalm 119:45; John 8:31-32; II Corinthians 3:17; James 1:25; I Peter 2:16).

Forgiveness
Matthew 23:1-39

In one chapter, Matthew 23, Jesus Christ rips the scribes and Pharisees to shreds. Eight times He pronounces on them woe—defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “deep suffering, grief, affliction, ruinous trouble.” He dubs them “hypocrites” seven times, “blind guides” twice, “fools and blind” twice, “blind” once, “whitewashed tombs” once, and finishes His name-calling tirade by designating them “brood of vipers”!

He then accuses them of being the children of those who had killed the prophets—a heavy-duty insult considering how proud they were of their ancestry. He predicts they would do the same themselves and declares that He would have nothing to do with them until they accept and bless the ones He sends.

Jesus was really worked up over this! Why? These people were extremely careful in keeping every minor article of the law. They even added many precise rules themselves to ensure they did not overlook the law’s details.

Their lives, and the lives of those under their jurisdiction, consisted of endless, mindless details. Endless, for they continued to break branches of the law down to twigs down to leaves. Mindless, because this focus hampered their ability to think and properly weigh what was most important. They became so involved in making sure everyone else obeyed their demands that they no longer remembered the fundamental purpose of the law or kept it properly themselves. Even worse, they used the law against others and took advantage even to the point of “devouring widows’ houses” (verse 14). Hence Christ’s remonstrance: Hypocrites!

Yet they LOOKED good, publicly counting their mint, cummin and anise. It is not wrong or unlawful to count each seed; tithing should be done, as Christ pointed out (verse 23). But there are far more important issues of the law to consider than counting individual seeds—namely, JUDGMENT, MERCY AND FAITH.

Notice Christ’s scathing indictment of the Pharisees’ religion and it’s effects:

• They set a horrid example by not following their own teaching (verse 3).
• They abused their office by burdening others with strict requirements while not requiring the same of themselves (verse 4).
• What they did do was only for vanity and show (verse 5).
• They were social climbers (verse 6).
•Their teaching had negative results, driving people farther from the Kingdom rather than closer to it (verse 13).
• Their twisted reasoning led them to steal even from the weak (verse 14).
• Their misguided zeal made their proselytes twice as bad as they were before they were even “converted” to Pharisaism (verse 16).
• Gold, money, and greed became their main focus and god (verses 16-18).
• Their perspective was so perverted that they would pay more attention to keep from swallowing a gnat than they would a camel (verses 23-24).
• How others saw them was far more important than moral values (verses 27-28).
• While they extolled the virtues of past men of God, they were so deeply hateful and murderous that they would kill Christ and any of His followers that they could (verses 29-37).
• Their religious house was utterly worthless and desolate, bereft of any contact with or influence of God, though they thought they were perfectly righteous. In a word, they were self-righteous.

We could easily break these attitudes down into many more categories of sin, but the point is obvious: The total of all their religious efforts was zero. Actually, Pharisaism had negative value, for the scribes and Pharisees took what people already had and made them even worse off than before!